Every music enthusiast knows that this isn’t the case for most collaborations. Even two good musicians can come together to create a sub-par product. Isn’t that just the worst? Luckily for us, there are exceptions to this rule! Sometimes, you look at the track listing of an album and think, "Really? There’s no way this is going to work!" But it does! Don’t just take our word for it, though. Check out these 7 unlikely collaborations that turned out way better than we expected them to:

The Roots & Joanna Newsom

The Roots have come a long way since their formation in 1987. Along the way, Jimmy Fallon‘s house band has treated us to some magnificent collaborations too. Right On, their track with Joanna Newsom, seemed like a bad idea on paper. However, all our doubts were cleared when we heard the song, which is the perfect blend of soul, folk and electronica!

Florence + the Machine & Dizzee Rascal

Florence Welch and Dizzee Rascal… That’s one collaboration we thought would never happen! But it did, and the result was glorious! The duo put an all-new spin on You’ve Got the Love at the Brit Awards 2010. We didn’t think that Florence’s brand of baroque pop would gel with hip-hop, but we’re happy to admit that we were wrong!

Kanye West & Bon Iver

Kanye Westand Bon Iver… There’s no way that could’ve turned out good, right? Wrong! Together, Kanye West and Bon Iver created one of the best songs of both their careers. Lost in the World showed us how auto-tune is done right. We could never have predicted how much we’d love Justin Vernon‘s soul-stirring voice combined with Kanye’s rhymes!

Faris Badwan & Rachel Zeffira

What do you get when you combine a soprano singer with a rock vocalist? A collaboration of epic proportions! Together, Rachel Zeffira and Faris Badwan formed Cat’s Eyes, an experimental rock project that blew all our minds. Zeffira’s ethereal vocals, Badwan’s signature screams and the haunting organ music were an unlikely blend that worked, and how!

Jack White + Alicia Keys

Jack Whiteand Alicia Keys came together for Another Way to Die, the first ever duet for a Bond film. And what a great first it was! The duo’s powerhouse vocals, along with White’s guitar prowess, made for a track that was evocative yet larger-than-life. A perfect fit in the Bond franchise!

Iggy Pop + Ke$ha

If we had to make a list of musicians that Iggy Pop would potentially collaborate with, Ke$ha wouldn’t be on it. But Dirty Love showed us that anything is possible! Though Iggy Pop didn’t lay vocals on the track, it’s hard to listen to the track without sensing his presence on it. Pop music has never been this gritty!

Lou Reed + Metallica

If you’d told us about the possibility of a Lou Reed and Metallica collab in 2008, we’d laugh at you. After all, Reed‘s solo music or his work with The Velvet Underground isn’t exactly similar to Metallica‘s discography. But opposites attracted, and the product was beautiful! Don’t believe us? Just listen to Sweet Jane!

These are just a few of our favorite unlikely collaborations! Which ones are yours? Tell us in the comments below!